Become A Pellet Waggler Master

Although there are loads of edges and tricks within this method, the basics are very simple. Pellet Waggler fishing involves fishing in and throughout the upper layers of the water, suspending a pellet below a Pellet Waggler float, and feeding regularly to draw in fish and get them competing in the area you are fishing. To catch more and bigger fish however, you can play around with things like your setup, the kind of waggler you use, feeding, depth and technique to really make the most of this deadly tactic

The rod and reel you need for Pellet Waggler fishing depends on the distance you are planning to fish. Generally for me, I use an 11ft Float rod and 3000 reel for shorter 15-25m distances on standard commercials, and will step-up to a 12ft version and 4000 reel for anything more than that. There are loads of different rods out there to suit different price brackets, the A-Class range is an ideal cheaper option and has specific Pellet Waggler rods, while N-Gauge steps up a bracket and designed for keen match anglers. Competing at the highest level, I like to use the top-end Aventus Range, which are incredibly crisp, light and have a fast but progressive through action, and the finishing touches on these tools make them very comfortable to fish with for long periods

Picking the right mainline is essential too. It needs to be durable and strong enough to handle a heavy session bagging, but slick and light enough to cast with ease. For me, it’s either 6lb or 8lb Pulse Pro. The lighter comes into play for smaller floats, 6g Balsa wagglers, or the Foam Pellet Wagglers, because the thinner, lighter line enables you to cast further with less effort. If I’m stepping-up to bigger 8g Balsa wagglers or heavier, I generally use 8lb for the durability factor from repetitive casting. Pulse Pro is smooth, hard wearing, and importantly its neutral buoyancy so it can sit on the surface, or just under if I want to sink the line.

I simply have my waggler clipped to a Waggler Attachment for easy and quick changes, which sits between some Super Tight Line Stops. Normally I have two below the float to stop it slipping on the cast, and one above. I then have a Heli Swivel below this tied on with a Palomar Knot that enables me to quickly change my hooklength. For carp, which is my normal target fish on the Pellet Waggler, I don’t fish light. Hooklengths are 0.17mm, 0.19mm or 0.22mm N-Gauge with size 16, 14 or 12 Super MWG hooks and a hair-rigged Bait Band. Normally my hooklengths are tied to 15-inches long, and if you struggle tying your own, Ready Rigs made specifically for Pellet Waggler fishing are available with Super Pellet Waggler hooks, and also Super MWG hooks with bait Bands all ready to go

There are two kinds of Pellet Waggler you can use – Balsa and Foam. Balsa floats come into play in rough conditions, or when distance is the objective. These are loaded and don’t require any shotting, sitting nice and stable in any tow, wind or ripple. They also make a lot of noise when they enter the water, which can be great if fish are coming to the noise

On the opposite end of the scale, the Foam Wagglers are lighter, make less noise and disturbance, but are also less stable. Generally I use these in calm conditions, if the fish are spooky, or if I’m fishing super shallow. There is a time and place for both, make sure you have them in your armour!

If I had to say what the single biggest edge is surrounding Pellet Waggler fishing, I’d have to say it’s about having a busy attitude and mindset and making it happen, not waiting for it to happen. The idea of this method is to catch fish in the upper layers of the water, so getting fish competing with regular feed is a must. Bait wise, for carp it’s nearly always 8mm pellets. These group well, you can fire them a long way out, they make a great noise when they hit the water and carp love them! When I say regular feeding, I’m talking about feeding between 5 and 10 pellets every 30 seconds as a minimum.

For this, you need to have the perfect catapult, strong and durable enough to handle the hammer, and one that keeps the pellets accurate. The Incredipult is designed just for the job and I honestly don’t think there is a better or more accurate catty out there. The only time I’d use different sized pellets is either 6mms at close range if I was targeting more F1s, or the extreme of 11mms if I was going super long for very big fish in poor conditions.

I like to place a pellet in my band, and then place the rod between my legs and fire out two lots of 5-10 pellets. I’ll then efficiently cast my waggler as accurately as possible over the top so my hookbait is following the loosefeed down. I will then wait a few seconds for a bite as the hookbait settles, and often bites will come at this stage quite literally pulling the rod around. If I don’t get a bite at this stage, I will then feed again, trying to aim the pellets just infront of the float. This then allows me to twitch the float back into the loosefeed, lifting my hookbait up and letting it fall back in with this feed. Sometimes I will do this a couple of times on a cast, before winding in and repeating the whole process over again. Generally however, I find a lot of bites come as the float lands and the fish see or hear the bait and rig landing. Therefore, I often find myself casting every minute or even more regular than this. As I mentioned earlier, the busier you are on this technique, the more you catch!

One of the biggest edges when Pellet Waggler fishing relates to hitting bites, and the key is keeping a tight line between float and rod tip. To do this, you need to learn to ‘feather’ the rig into the water, so the hookbait flicks out straight infront of the float. As the rig lands, I try and have the rod pointing straight out to this infront of me just tickling the spool of the reel to stop the rig, and literally drop it into position on my Reaper Rest low to the water.

Another great trick for this kind of fishing it to fish past or around your feed. Keep feed going in the same area, and don’t be scared to cast past this area. Often the bigger more-wary fish sit just off the back edge of the feed waiting for an odd pellet to drop past. Sometimes a little to the left, right and even infront of the feed is effective too.

Finally, another variable you need to play with is depth. Fish constantly move up and down following the feed in the water column, so trying different depths is vital. If you’re missing bites generally that means you need to come shallower. If you aren’t getting any indications, look deeper for fish.